Murder and Mayhem (9 page)

Nicola nodded, not really listening to what he was
saying she was trying to figure out what the stains on his clothes were.
Suddenly it dawned on her. “Oh my God, Danny, is that blood? Are you hurt?” She
reached out and touched the dark stain on the front of his T-shirt and noticed
it was dry.

Danny looked down. “Oh that. No, don’t worry. It’s not
mine. Joe ripped his arm while he was working on the bike and must have brushed
up against me.”

“Is he all right?”

“Oh, sure, barely a scratch, us bikers are a hardy
lot. When you work on bikes it happens all the time because you need to get
your hands into some pretty tight places.”

Neither spoke, neither moved. He could feel the warmth
from her hand on his T-shirt. Danny took a step back and smiled.

“I don’t know about you but I’m bushed. My body is
telling me I’m still on Sydney time. I’m going to go take a shower to get rid
of the smell of grease and turn in,” he said.

An awkward look passed between them then Nicola said,
“Sure, you go ahead.” She reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips, turned
and walked away.

Danny watched her walk down the hall. When Nicola
reached the door to her bedroom, she turned and smiled.

“Good night, Danny. I hope you sleep well,” she said,
and disappeared inside.

After his shower, he stepped out of the bathroom
finger combing his wet hair, a towel draped around his waist and found Nicola
standing in the doorway looking shy and unsure. He could see the outline of her
nipples through the oversized T-shirt that came midway down her thighs. His
skin felt electric, his whole being seemed to hum, he wanted to reach out and
touch her–but was afraid he’d scare her off.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t sleep,” Nicola said softly, as
she took in his lean, tanned body and well defined muscles that rippled when he
moved; his skin the color and texture of honey glistened with droplets of
water. She took a deep breath, and waited... but when he said nothing Nicola
felt foolish. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” She turned and started to
leave.

Suddenly Danny found his voice. “Nicola, wait.”

In two strides Danny crossed the room and wrapped his
arms around her. “Oh Jesus, I want you, Nicola. I’ve wanted you from the moment
I first set eyes on you at the airport,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with
desire.

He lifted her bodily off the floor and pressed her
against the door. He could smell oranges in her hair and roses on her skin. He
kissed her with a passion that had been pent up inside him for too long.

Nicola answered his intensity with a passion of her
own, pressing her mouth against his. She wrapped her arms around his neck,
gripped his hips with her thighs and pressed her body hard against his.

Without breaking away from their kiss, he carried her
across the room and laid her down gently on the bed. When he pulled the T-shirt
over her head he saw she was naked underneath. Nicola arched her back and
brought her breasts up towards him.

“Nicola.” His voice caught in his throat as he pulled
her close and kissed her, tenderly at first then urgently, his tongue probing,
his hands all over her body.

Nicola closed her eyes and took in the essence of him.
She was aware of the closeness of a man she barely knew, and surrendered
herself to him.

Danny ripped the towel from his hips, raised himself
up and entered her. Nicola moaned as she wound her legs around him and pulled
him inside, her thighs cradling his hips.

His breath was warm on her face, his eyes dark with
desire, his thrusts were measured and deep. Nicola clung to him, matching his
rhythm with her own. Suddenly their breathing quickened. Danny’s body tensed.
He let out a roar as Nicola moaned and shuddered beneath him. He throbbed
inside her–and then his body quieted. He reached out and gathered her into his
arms and she laid with her body curled into his.

* * *

Later that night lying in the bed, he listened to the
undisturbed sound of her breathing and thought of long summer nights when the
soft riffle of wind in the trees came in through the open window and brought
with it the sound of waves breaking up along the shore; and a woman with
wheat-colored hair and sapphire-blue eyes, and a smile that would light up his
world, lying next to him.

Danny brushed a tear from his eye. He knew it wouldn’t
be easy–but he didn’t think it would be this hard.

*****

Rosie sighed. “God, I can only dream of passion like
that.”

“Me too,” I said as I shut down
the laptop and slid off the bed. “Do you need anything before I go, Hon?”

“How about Danny to visit my dreams?”

“Mine too. But I guess I’ll just have to settle for
the over-the-hill-Harley Hoon in the next room.” I kissed the top of her head
and turned off the light.

TEN

The afternoon sun filtered
through the redwoods as a warm breeze ruffled the leaves on the bay laurels and
maple trees. My sister
was lying on the
white wicker chaise lounge in the garden enjoying a brief respite from her
treatment while I worked on my story–her eyes closed; her face cantered towards
the sun. Ross and Drew had gone to a Blue Grass Festival in the city and Cody
was spending the weekend with his brother in Santa Cruz enjoying the college
experience.

“Bubbie?”

I continued tapping the keys my
mind on the screen. “Yes, Hon?”

“Read me what you’re writing.”

I looked up and smiled. “Would you like something
before I start–a mug of Milo or a cup of tea? What about something to eat? Ross
said he left fresh fruit salad in the fridge; and the cookies he’d left cooling
on the rack should be ready by now.”

“No. I don’t feel like anything. I just want to hear
the sound of your voice so I know you’re still here when I close my eyes.

“Of course I’m still here, where else would I be?”

She gave me a wan, tired smile. “I don’t know. I just
like to have that comforting reassurance.”

“You’re a funny little thing,
sometimes,” I said as I felt the tears gather in the back of my throat. “Okay
then, here we go, but I’m not sure if this part is appropriate.”

Rosie picked up a twig and threw it at me. “Don’t wrap
me in cottonwool!”

*****

“She lay in a nest of autumn leaves. Her hair,
shimmering in the dappled moonlight, was spread like a fan around her. Her
green eyes looked skywards, unseeing, while curious black birds collected on
the branches of an oak tree nearby.

As she lay amongst the brown and gold leaves, a dark
stain pooled around her and soaked into the earth, turning everything deep
vermillion as blood oozed from the gaping hole in her head.

High overhead the birds looked down in silence; and
the leaves stirred and whispered as a soft breeze riffled through them.”

I heard a sharp intake of breath. “You’ve killed her!”
she accused, like the prosecutor in an old B grade movie. 

Unlike many criminals, I owned up to the deed. “I
have.”

“But I liked her. I didn’t want her to die. What’s
Danny going to do now?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see.”

She harrumphed loudly and pursed her lips in a tight
curlicue. Paused, and then said, “All right. Now that she’s dead what are you
going to do with the body?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“You haven’t decided! Bubbie you’re going to have to
make a decision soon. You can’t leave a body lying out there in the open where
someone is bound to find it.”

“You think I don’t know that!”

“Well, I guess you know what you’re doing. Good thing
you’re the writer in this family, not me. Here you are, you’ve just committed
your first murder and you’re all calm and collected. If it was me I’d be a
mess.” Suddenly her expression changed from concern to anticipation. “Have you
written any more?” Despite all her protests I could see my sister was actually
enjoying herself.

“I certainly have, Ollie.”

Bright rays of sunlight streamed in through the glass
and fell in pools of gold on the polished wood floor in front of the sofa where
Nicola sat with her feet tucked up under her, the morning paper spread open on
her lap...

“Stop right there!”

“What?”

“I thought you just killed Nicola.”

I could see she was confused. I hope the reader would
feel the same way. Hate those stories where you know everything in the first
few chapters and then there are no surprises to hold the interest of the reader
right up to the end.

“I just killed someone. I didn’t say it was Nicola.”

“But you said…”

“No–you assumed. Have I ever
lied to you?”

“You lie to me all the time.
What about that time when I was six-years-old…”

“Are you going to re-hash that
old thing again? I mean–in the last month?”

“How would I know? You always keep a straight face. I
wouldn’t know if you were lying or not. So…, if it wasn’t Nicola you killed–who
was it?”

“Do you want me to continue reading, or not?”

She waved her hand in the air and nodded.

“Okay, then just be quiet. No
more interruptions unless it’s to tell me you want something to eat, or go
potty!”

“Oh! You are
soo
bossy!”

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you, that’s what big sisters
are for?”

Nicola smiled at the sound of soft footfalls padding
down the hall. She looked up as Danny wandered into the room barefoot and
bare-chested, dressed in faded blue jeans that hung comfortably from lean,
narrow hips, his face tranquil and dreamy, his eyes heavy lidded from sleep. A
day’s growth of golden fuzz shadowed his face.

“Morning, sleepy-head,” she said.

Danny took in the vision before him. The bright
sunlight that poured in through the large window created a shimmering halo on
her chestnut hair as it hung about her shoulder in waves.

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

“Good morning, beautiful. I didn’t realize it was so
late. Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I thought I’d let you sleep. After your long flight I
figured you must have been exhausted.” Nicola’s eyes crinkled when she smiled.
“And, we certainly didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Mmm.” Danny grinned. His fingers lightly caressed the
side of her face as his thoughts strayed back to the previous night. As
memories go it was up there with the best. He might feel like shit this morning
– but, hell it was worth it.

“When I woke up, I reached out for you but you were
gone. Then, when I looked at the clock I was surprised to see it was after
nine. I’m usually up and in the surf by sun-up.” Danny’s lips brushed against
the soft silky tresses as he breathed in the fragrance of her hair.

“What time should we leave for the airport?” he asked.

“The plane leaves at 1.35 so we should leave here in a
couple of hours to allow for traffic. Would you like something to eat?  Eggs
and bacon, French toast?”

“Just French toast and coffee would be great. What a
wonderful day,” he said through a yawn as he stretched and walked over to the
window. He looked at the sun blazing through the tops of the trees like golden
fire raining down in shafts of light where tiny insects and dust motes drifted
lazily. Out the corner of his eye he thought he saw something move at the
bottom of the garden. He squinted and leaned into the window trying to see what
was there. Suddenly a deer leapt from the shadows and disappeared into the
thick undergrowth. He laughed and shook his head.

“I’ll just go and shower,” He held out his hand. Would
you care to join me?”

“We’ll have plenty of time for that when we get to Philadelphia. Now, shoo go have your shower while I do the toast.”

Twenty minutes later, Danny sauntered barefoot into
the kitchen dressed in a white Hanes T-shirt over blue jeans. Nicola picked up
two plates piled high with French toast. Danny grabbed the whipped butter and
jug of Maple syrup in one hand and two mugs of coffee in the other and followed
her over to the table. As he passed behind her he leaned down and kissed the
top of her head.